How to cut a Ruby - Chapter 4

The annoying ringing of Ruby's cell phone roused her from a deep alcohol-induced slumber. She rose from Reinhold's soft green sofa and noticed his jacket slide off of her. She fumbled around the coffee table, her eyes still blurry from sleep, until her fingers found her battered bar-style phone.

She clicked the answer button and yawned loudly into the microphone. She rubbed her eyes and checked her watch. "Shit, I'm sorry Lou. Guess I slept in. I'll be righ' in." She heaved a sigh and looked up to see Reinhold sitting on the floor with his back against the bar, facing her. The brim of his hat was lowered over his eyes and his shoulders were slightly slumped. Ruby figured that he was sleeping, so she grabbed her uniform from her overnight bag and changed for work.

Reinhold glanced up just as the door slammed shut, and slipped out of the Safehouse to silently track her.

It was a busy morning at Lou's Diner. Ruby was nearly 45 minutes late by the time she pushed the door open and trodded over to the waitresses' area. She tied her forever-greasy off-white apron around her slender waist and tucked her notebook and pen into the apron pocket. She gathered her ungroomed white hair into a ponytail, and got to work.

It was a never-ending stream of customers, pots of coffee, and orders of fries bused around the tables. Ruby's head was throbbing from a wicked hangover. Why did she drunk so much? The usually dim fluorescent lights burned as though she was staring directly into the sun, and she struggled to stay upright to serve all of her tables. Most difficult of all was the forced smile she had to plaster on her face.

Ruby checked her watch. It had been 4 hours since she began her shift. She took the opportunity to serve herself a bowl of soup and pour herself a cup of coffee. She sat at the end of the counter to look over the restaurant.

The rush was over. Only half of the tables were occupied. At one far end of the restaurant, an attractive blond woman was blushing at comments made by a good looking red-headed man. She had dropped their cheque before taking her break. By the window, a dodgy looking man wearing sunglasses and a dirty brown trenchcoat drank cup after cup of coffee. She must have filled his cup at least a dozen times, already. A group of teenagers wearing gaudy smudged black makeup occupied two tables pushed together and demanded refills to their coffees and juices every five minutes. Ruby scowled. The kids never left a decent tip. The rest of the customers in the diner were the same perverted jerks who enjoyed gawking at her breasts and backside.

She downed the rest of her coffee and tilted her soup bowl to her lips, then dumped her dishes in the dirty bin before going back to work. She walked over to the man by the window to refill his cup. He was still reading the newspaper. She was certain he had been reading that same page for some time now, and Lou was still standing in the corner near the kitchen. Still not giving a rat's ass.

Ruby was the only waitress with tables at this point. Most of her colleagues had already left for the day, and it was just Ruby and two other girls left. The two women chatted idly near the coffee machine, and Lou stood like a statue in his spot near the kitchen door. The diner phone rang. Ruby looked over her shoulder at the talking waitresses, then at Lou. She rolled her eyes and slammed the BLT sandwich in front of a startled teenager and stormed over to answer. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and threw her notepad next to the phone. "Oh, I must be sittin' around on MY ass, so LEMME GET IT!", she growled, as she picked up the receiver. "Lou's Diner."

Reinhold's voice came from the receiver. It was calm, but quick. "Red, don't look up, don't use my name, act like you're taking some guy's order". Ruby's entire body stiffened as she picked her notepad up from next to the phone.

"Pickup? Yeah, you c'n order'n pick up. What'll yeh have?"

"I found out who hired the gunman and I'm as sure as I can be about this."

Ruby turned her back to the window and rested the phone between her shoulder and ear to use both hands. "'Kay?" The background noise in the receiver told her that Reinhold was calling from a nearby payphone. He must be watching the diner.

"It was Lou. Don't make a scene. Don't give him an opening. I'll be watching for the rest of your shift. We can deal with it then."

Ruby's hand began to tremble with rage as she scribbled a fake order. "Arrigh'... Thanks fer callin' Lou's." She slammed the receiver down and sent her order to the kitchen.

Reinhold watched her from the building across the street. She's gonna get herself shot...

Ruby avoided looking at Lou for the rest of her shift. She quietly greeted her customers, brought them their food, and collected their payments. About 30 minutes after she received Reinhold's call, the man in the dusty brown leather jacket called her over to the table. She walked over and held her hands on her hips, looking at him expectantly.

"Where's the manager? I'd like to speak to him." The man smiled at Ruby, but she got the creepiest feeling. She turned around to look at Lou.

"Lou, this guy needs t'speak with ya. That arrigh'?"

Lou nodded, and the man got up and whispered something to him. While Ruby was busy, Reinhold, from across the street, watched the pair of them walk into the kitchen through the window. He tried to get a good look at the man in the brown coat, but was too far away.

Ruby checked her watch and collected the dishes and tips from her various tables. She heaved a sigh at her gossiping coworkers, and untied her filthy apron from around her waist. She balled her hands into fists, bursts of negative energy spouting from around her knuckles, and took a hesitant step towards the kitchen. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The swirling tendrils of energy vanished from around her hands, and she called out, "LOU, I'm gettin' th' fuck outta here early!"

Across the street, Reinhold hopped out of the room he was watching from, and dropped into the alleyway. He used the shadows to render himself nearly indistinguishable from the dumpster he crouched next to.

Inside the diner, Lou's voice shouted from the back of the kitchen. "Ruby!" Get yer ass in here. I need to speak to you. NOW!". She passed a fleeting glance out the window, then slowly approached the kitchen door. She opened a drawer next to the kitchen and pulled out a steak knife. She tucked the knife into the back of her skirtband, and cautiously stepped into the kitchen.

Having lost sight of Ruby and the two men, Reinhold worked his way around the building to the back door. He pressed close to the wall in an attempt to hear their conversation.

"In my office, honey." Ruby stepped into Lou's dirty closet of an office. Years of unfiled paperwork was stacked on tables and filing cabinets, and there were large cobwebs in the corners, clinging to the mountains of paper. The heat from the kitchen lingered in his office, despite the small window being open to let the cooler outside air in, and the entire place smelled of sweat and body odour. Ruby flopped down on the chair in front of Lou's desk like she had done a thousand times before, and Lou quickly took his seat behind the desk. The two of them stared at each other like enemies on two ends of a battlefield.

As she was reaching for a pack of smokes, Ruby felt a thin wire being pulled around her neck. She dropped the carton and grabbed the gloved hands holding the wire. Her green eyes flared savagely, and her entire body ignited with flames of rage. Lou started scream at her. "That's what you get for messin' with Lou, ya fuckin' bitch! Yer gonna pay fer breakin' my fingers an' blackmailin' me! Nobody fucks with Lou! Y'hear me, bitch? NOBODY!" She could only choke in response as she kicked her legs and struggled in a surpsingly successful attempt to literally save her own neck.

Reinhold heard the sudden crackle of her fire shield and peeked through the window. He saw the man strangling Ruby, and cast a bolt of dark energy to stun him. The man dropped the piano wire and staggered away, blinded and choking. Reinhold broke through Lou's window and landed on the floor with a neat roll. Lou jumped up from his desk and staggered away from the explosion of glass fragments from the shattered opening.

Reinhold swung a sharp right punch at Lou's head and knocked him off balance. The sweaty fat man staggered, and the man in the mask shoved him forcefully against the wall. They both looked at Ruby, who was crouched on the floor, coughing violently, with a hand over her bleeding throat.

"You all right, Red?" Reinhold called over his shoulder at her. She looked up at him, then at Lou, and stood slowly. She pulled the knife from the waistband of her skirt and stared venomously at Lou as she advanced.

"I'll be arrigh' when I GUT this slumbitch..." She smiled mirthlessly at Lou and advanced upon him with the knife. Reinhold eyed the knife and looked at Ruby's face.

"Red, stop!" His voice snapped Ruby out of her murderous rage and she stared at him in disbelief.

"Why? He's tryin' to kill ME!" She looked from Lou to Reinhold.

Reinhold's reply was instant. "Is the hitman in this room?"

Ruby's eyes snapped to the open door of Lou's office. She pointed her knife at Lou and promised him, "I'll fuckin' deal with YOU later", before she dashed into the kitchen. She looked frantically around the kitchen, the cooks staring at her with a mix of fear and confusion, then ran to the open rear door and looked at the empty parking lot. She pointed out the door and asked if a man ran out. Both cooks nodded, still confused. Ruby cursed loudly and stormed back into Lou's office, breathing deeply to calm the inferno surrounding her petite frame.

Reinhold tossed Lou into a heap in the corner and crouched until they were nose to nose. "I suggest you call off the hitman, and then I wouldn't recommend going anywhere. Carry on with your typical routine: come to work, be a jerk, go home and masturbate to Hannah Montana. If you try to leave, or try to run, I WILL find you." He stood and took a step away from Lou, looming over him like the shadow of Death. "Believe me, Lou. Once I do find you, you'll wish I had let Red gut you here and now..."

Reinhold looked over at Ruby as she re-entered the room. She pointedly stormed over to Lou and lifted him by his collar. He blubbered and whined, begging for his life. She replied by shattering his nose with her fist and dropped him back onto the floor. She looked up at Reinhold and nodded. He silently left the office and left the diner through the kitchen's rear exit. Ruby paused at the door to Lou's office and smirked at him. "By the way, Lou?" She pulled her hair out of its ponytail. Lou cupped his hands over his bloody face, afraid to make eye contact with her. "I quit."

She turned with a flip of her ice-coloured hair and left the kitchen. She unbuttoned her gaudy mint blouse and tossed it into the garbage, then adjusted the bloody white tanktop she wore underneath. "Seeya, girls," she called to her former coworkers. "I ain' comin' back"

The door to Lou's closed behind Ruby, and she felt exhilarated as she breathed in the stagnant Kings Row air. Reinhold emerged from the shadows around the corner of the diner and regarded her carefully. She ran her fingers over her bloody throat, wincing at the stinging from the fresh wire cuts. She fumbled through her skirt pockets for her cigarettes, but couldn't find them. She looked at Reinhold with a goofy lopsided smile, and he grinned back at her.

She followed him to a building across the street. He scaled the building to the top floor, and slipped into an open window. Moments later, he leaped from the window and landed as quietly as a man his size can possibly land with a duffel bag slung neatly over his shoulder. He tossed the bag to Ruby.

A quick inspection of the bag revealed its contents to include a couple of changes of Ruby's clothes and a few boxes of her particular brand of cigarettes. She smiled gratefully to him as she retrieved one of the cartons and ripped it open.

She brought the cigarette to her lips and lit it with a shaky hand. She closed her eyes and filled her lungs with the acrid smoke, held it, and exhaled slowly. She opened her eyes and looked from the sky to Reinhold. She stuck the cigarette in the corner of her mouth, walked over to him, and wrapped her arms around his midsection, resting her head against his chest. "Thanks Rein."

He gently put one arm over her back and smiled down at her. "Not a problem Red."

She let go of him and pulled another drag from her cigarette. She tilted her head to the side and ran her fingers over the cut skin, quirking a brow at him. "How bad?"

He leaned down slightly to inspect the slashes. "I've seen worse. Probably wont even leave a scar."

She seemed satisfied with that answer as she rubbed her blood between her forefingers and thumb. She flicked the ash from her cigarette in the other hand and walked into the alleyway to change out of her bloody uniform.

Reinhold resisted the urge to peek at her, not wanting to risk certain dismemberment and/or face smashing, and grinned at her as she emerged wearing her regular shit-kicking costume. She tugged at her neck cover and nodded to him.

"I dunno 'bout you Rein, but I'm in th' mood to bust some faces."

And so they did.